RENEGADE [Izuku Midoriya x OC]

Chapter 10 - Weak

Sometimes Noriko wished she'd never signed up to go undercover.

This was one of those times.

After her third stakeout shift and an excessive amount of stress between both jobs (Dabi was being a dick, Shigs was breathing down her neck, an addict tried to hold up the shop for the till, and someone tried to mug her on her way home one night), Noriko succumbed to a nasty flu, complete with chills, fever, sweating, aching muscles, fatigue, sneezing, sore throat, and a pounding head.

Needless to say, she was having a helluva week.

She went to work anyway, locking herself in her office to complete piles of paperwork she'd been neglecting, taping a sign up on her door that explained she was contagious and grumpy. One of her coworkers would bring her a bowl of soup, leave it by the door, and knock quickly before running away, like a helpful version of ding-dong-ditch.

But the greatest inconvenience, no, the greatest pain in the ass was when Shigaraki needed her to do some villainy a few days later. While shivering, wrapped in a blanket, and barely able to keep her eyes open, he demanded she go break into the chemist's lab and terrorize them a little, pre-kidnapping.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Noriko snapped, clutching a tissue in her hand, holding her blanket closed around her shoulders with the other.

Shigaraki and the others stiffened, surprised at her language. They sat around the bar, Kurogiri behind it dusting glasses and pouring drinks. But all side chatter ceased at Noriko's outburst, all eyes turning to her. Kurogiri held his breath. Dabi watched in concerned amusement, sipping his whisky to hide his simmering fear. Spinner, Twice, and Compress looked up from their game of pool, nervously looking on.

"Excuse me?" Shigaraki hissed, standing from his stool and approaching the couch where Toga and Noriko sat, one of his beady eyes visible between the fingers of his facehand.

Noriko leaned forward, tossing her used tissue at her boss. "Do those disembodied hands cut off all the circulation to your brain? You heard me, boss. I'm fucking sick. Send somebody else."

Hawks sighed silently from his spot beside Dabi, letting his eyes drift closed. Dammit Noriko, you can't just say things like that. His heart punched against his ribs, nerves going haywire on the inside for her, panic settling into his bones. But on the outside, Hawks looked bored, disinterested. Like he'd heard nothing.

Like he couldn't care less.

A dry chuckle came from Shigaraki as he stepped closer, avoiding the snotty tissue wadded near his foot. His hand darted out, gripping Noriko by the swollen throat, lifting her slightly off of the couch, his pinky raised like a fancy gentleman.

He was the furthest thing from it.

"If you ever speak to me like that again, Renegade," he hissed, loving the feral, distressed look in her golden eyes as she clawed meekly at his wrist, "I'll disintegrate your eyes, one by one. You and your shitty quirk mean nothing to me, is that clear?"

Swallowing as best as possible, Noriko managed a weak, "Y-yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes... s-sir."

He released her from his clutches, her body collapsing to the couch in a heap. Shigaraki would never say it out loud, but he'd always admired Renegade's undying devotion to the LoV, her sass with everyone except him, her faithfulness to his plan. It made Shigaraki feel powerful. Strong. In control. But that outburst kindled a flame of fury in his chest, hating to see his favorite pawn so easily broken by a weakened immune system.